True Heroes
by Hordak's Pupil
Summary: After seeing the attacks on the World Trade Center, Danny flies to New York to help with the rescue effort, but he will soon what a true hero is. Oneshot in honor of 911. Please R&R.


**Danny Phantom: True Heroes**

**By: Hordak's Pupil**

**Author's Notes: Once again, I have another Oneshot to honor those who have fallen in the tragedy. I want to thank everyone who wrote such beautiful and moving comments on my last oneshot, this is another Oneshot in honor of 9/11 may it help us realize what a hero truly is.**

**Danny**

"Danny, you can't go it's too dangerous," Sam told me as I made my way to the window, she knew what I have planned and was trying to persuade me not to go, "Danny, let the firefighters and the police handle it, they know what they're doing," she pleads with me, but my mind's made up.

"Sorry Sam, but this is something that has to be done," I said as I transformed into Danny Phantom and left out the window thinking about how could this happen in the mist powerful nation on Earth.

This morning, planes hit the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania killing thousands of innocent people (including Mr. Lancer's cousin, the poor man was so distraught that he let us go early, but no one was happy for they knew what happened) and though I knew no one who died in the attacks something in me compelled me to go to New York and help out with the rescue efforts there.

I flew for some time until I arrived at NYC. The carnage there shocked me, people were laying on the streets injured and crying, the look of despair on their face made my heart stop a beat and even consider that we might be on the verge of the End of Time, but I have greater things to worry about now, like saving people.

The people are listening to Mayor Giuliani give a speech which allows me to slip into the scene unnoticed and do some good.

I look around at the shattered remains of the twin towers, it looks like Armageddon rolled through here, it's hard to breathe with all the dust and my soul aches with cries of everyone in here, I feel like Dante walking through nine circles of the Inferno, only these people did not get condemned here for some crime against God, except for living and that is no crime.

I walked through the chaos looking for survivors (it's impossible in all this dust and rubble), I hear a little girl crying out for help, "Hang on!" I told her as I searched through the rubble, hoping to find her, "If you can see me, tell me if I am getting close to you," I tell her as she points me in the right direction until I spot her underneath some rubble.

I gathered all my strength and lift the beam pinning her down, "you're going to be okay," I tell her as I knelt down and examine her wounds, which are pretty bad, her legs are crushed and is having trouble breathing (no doubt due to her lungs being punctured), "My name is Danny and I'm here to help, can you tell me your name," I ask her trying to prevent from falling unconscious and tearing off pieces of my costume to use as bandages to stop the bleeding.

"Melissa," the girl coughed as she clutched on to a teddy bear, "why did this happen, Danny?" she asked me with pleading, what do you tell a girl so young that a man in a distant country so hates us that he decided that we all should die, how do you explain the horror to someone so young that she still has the innocence of youth in her, what do you say.

"I don't know Melissa, even I'm at a loss for words," I told her as I wrapped a piece of fabric around her mouth to try to prevent her from inhaling the toxic dust, "just breathe as normal as you can," I tell her as raise a ghost shield to protect her from falling debris, "we have to get out here, Melissa, I want you to hold onto me as tight as you can, I'm going to get you out here," I told her as I held her tight and flew away as fast as I could, praying that she'll be all right.

We landed a half a mile away from the carnage (hopefully she'll be safe here), "Do me a favor and hang in there okay," I told her as I noticed her eyes were sagging, she was going, but I was determined to stop it.

"I'll…try," she rasped as she tried to inhale but it hurt too much, I noticed she had a picture of her mother in her other hand, who no doubt worked in the twin towers and was there when they collapsed.

"Do you have any family, that I can call to tell them you've been found," I asked her as changed her dressings on her wounds.

She winced as I changed them, "No…my parents…died…during…the attack," she told me, tears poured down my face at those words, I can't imagine that there was no one who cared for this child.

"Stay with me Melissa, I'm going to call for help," I told her as shouted as loud as I could for someone, but it was blotted out by the sirens and people crying and screaming, I look down at the girl, her pulse was slowing down, she was dying, "please don't leave me," I told her as she smiled at me.

"Thank…Yo…," she whispered before closing her eyes and finally entered paradise.

The river of tears on my face became a torrent, I didn't know this girl and yet it felt like a piece of my heart was ripped out, "You…'re….Welcome," I manage to stutter out as I took her body to a nearby fire truck, so they could identify and bury her.

I was confused, I needed somewhere quiet to think, away from this carnage and destruction away from this living nightmare and just be alone.

I flew around the city until I came to a small church, which was empty for the moment (although I'm not sure how long that will last). I walked inside, blessed myself with the Holy Water, genuflected before the altar and sat at the back pew and cried until I felt myself drift to sleep.

When I woke up I found myself on a cot in what appeared to be a social hall with a warm blanket around me, I look up and saw a priest sitting by the cot reading a book, he glanced over to me and smiled, "I see you are awake, I was starting to worry for a second," he told me, "I'm Father Jonathan, pastor of this church," he introduced himself.

"I'm Danny," I said as I shook his hand and sighed, thinking of how I failed Melissa.

"What weighs so heavy on your soul, Danny," Father Jonathan asked as he noticed the expression on my face.

"You wouldn't understand," I told him coldly, I didn't want to be reminded of how that little girl died in my arms and feel that sadness overwhelm me again, I didn't want to feel that guilt on my soul, but looking into his eyes made me want to tell to my story. I told him of how I wanted to be like the firemen and police who saved all those people when the towers fell, only to have a little girl die in my arms.

"It seems you need to redefine what a hero really is and realize what you did for that girl was heroic," he said with a smile, "It is nice what the firemen and police did and they are heroes, but so is the person who donates blood to help out; the person who offers a shoulder for a mourner to cry on; and gives a glass of water to a thirsty survivor. Remember what Jesus said, that if you do this for the least of his kin, you do it for him as well and God will not forget that. You comforted a dying child, that is truly heroic and God will not forget that small act of kindness and make sure you rewarded for it, when you go before him to enter his kingdom," he told me.

I suddenly felt better and realized what I had done was heroic, I may not have done what the firefighters or police did, but I was a hero to Melissa and it mattered to her that there was someone to care for her in her final hours. I realized that I, Danny Phantom, am a hero.

**Dedicated to the brave men and women who sacrificed themselves in order so that others may have a chance to live on 9/11/01.**

**May their souls rest in peace and the Perpetual Light shine upon them and may them and all the souls of the departed rest in peace.**

**The End.**


End file.
